Cameron on faith schools and the new high speed rail announcement

By Conservative Party Conference on Oct 4, 10 10:29 AM in Politics

Jonathan Walker writes: A couple of interesting stories have come out of the Conservative conference which are now available online.

We've got some words from the Prime Minister who talks about a range of topics including plans for a Sikh "free school" in Handsworth, which have been criticised by he (Tory-led) city council.

Mr Cameron backs the proposal, saying: "This school - like any other free school - would be open to children of all religions and backgrounds. The admissions rules are clear: up to half of pupils can be chosen on the grounds of their religion and the rest of the places are for children of any faith or none. That's really important.

"And I know this particular group has big plans to involve parents from all sections of the neighbourhood, to build a sense of community and bring the people of Handsworth together. Those are ambitions we can all support."

He also talks about spending cuts - and football. Read it here: http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2010/10/04/exclusive-david-cameron-on-sikh-free-schools-police-cuts-and-watching-aston-villa-97319-27393960/

Then there's the announcement Transport Secretary Philip Hammond is making to the conference today. He will reveal that a high speed rail line will be built between Birmingham and Leeds, on top of lines from London to Birmingham and Birmingham to Manchester.

Previously, the plan was to have a single service going north to Manchester which would then head east to Yorkshire, so this is a significant change.

Full details are here: http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2010/10/04/birmingham-set-for-two-high-speed-rail-links-heading-north-97319-27393610/